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Kurdistan and Germany Inaugurate First
Lufthansa Flights to Erbil
30.4.2010 |
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April
30, 2010
ERBIL-Hewlêr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Iraqi and Kurdistan
Region Ministers, diplomatic officials and the
business community gathered on Tuesday to inaugurate
Lufthansa’s first flights to Erbil International
Airport, in the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Interior
Minister Karim Sinjari and Iraq’s Deputy Prime
Minister Dr Roj Shawis and Erbil’s diplomatic
community participated in the ceremony.
In his speech Mr Sinjari said, “By coming here,
Lufthansa has made the determination that Iraqi
Kurdistan is a safe and secure place to work.” He
added, “I commend Lufthansa for making the decision
to bring their services to us, and to the people and
business of Kurdistan and Iraq.”
A large group of guests assembled on the tarmac of
Erbil International Airport (EIA) to hear speeches
by officials and business representatives and watch
the arrival of Lufthansa flight 696 from Frankfurt.
Mr Peter Andres, Lufthansa’s Vice President for
Corporate Security, commented on Erbil’s hospitality
and beauty. He thanked Austrian Airlines, which was
the first regular scheduled carrier to the Kurdistan
Region,www.ekurd.netfor
paving the way for other airlines, and said that
Lufthansa plans to resume flights also to Baghdad
this summer after a stoppage of many years. He noted
the presence at the ceremony of Germany’s Consul
General Dr Oliver Schnakenberg and officials from
Germany’s Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry.
Mr Stafford Clarry, Acting Director of the airport,
described its evolution since its beginnings in
2005. School children are given tours of the
airport, he said, as “They are our future, the
airport is our future, and this airport is also your
future.”
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Kurdistan and Germany Inaugurate First Lufthansa
Flights to Erbil. KRG photo
KRG Photo |
Mr Dilsos CEO and
Managing Director of Zagros Group, said that in the
Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq, German
products signify quality and he was happy to see
another quality German product here.
Lufthansa hosted a gala dinner the evening before
the ceremony. The KRG’s Head of Foreign Relations
Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir thanked Lufthansa for
its important initiative, and Germany’s Consul
General in Erbil for strengthening its relationship
with the Kurdistan Region. He said, “Lufthansa is a
wonderful bridge for our people to Germany and the
rest of Europe,” promoting travel to Europe and
enabling others to experience the Kurdistan Region
in Iraq.
Dr Schnakenberg said, “Today both Baghdad and Erbil
are now part of the businessman’s map”. The opening
of the German Consulate General in Erbil last year
showed how much Germany values its partnership with
the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and its contribution
to their reconstruction.
Lufthansa now operates four flights a week between
Frankfurt and Erbil.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
krg org
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